Camp Shakespeare 2018 Instructors

The Groundlings (Ages 4-6)

Lead Instructor: Sidney Edwards

Sidney is excited to return to Camp Shakespeare for a second year! Last year she served as the Lead Instructor for Revelers 2. Sidney is a native of North Carolina and received a BFA in Musical Theater from William Peace University. This year she received her MFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Louisville. GO CARDS! Sidney’s favorite Shakespeare play is A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is looking forward to a fun and engaging summer with all of the Groundling campers!

The Groundlings (Ages 4-6)

Co-Lead Instructor: Xavier Harris

Xavier is from Baltimore, Maryland and has recently completed his first year of graduate school at the University of Louisville in Theatre Arts. He has his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. He has worked with children over the summer in Baltimore for the Mayoral program with Americorps, where he helped to educate children, keeping them mentally and physically active during their summer break. This is his first time with Kentucky Shakespeare and he is thrilled to have been given this opportunity!

The Noblings (Ages 7-8)

Lead Instructor: Shawn Franklin

Also the Instructor for Locust Grove!

Shawn Franklin is a part-time Artist Educator for Kentucky Shakespeare. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and received a Bachelors Degree in Theatre at Hanover College in 2016. When he is not working as an Artist Educator, Shawn performs in productions with Mind’s Eye Theatre Company, The Mary Shelley Electric Company, Dinner Detective, and his improv group: Improv Anonymous. This is Shawn’s third summer with Camp Shakespeare and he is very excited to get to work with campers old and new.

The Noblings (Ages 7-8)

Co-Lead Instructor: Michaela Morris

Michaela Morris is a Junior at Northern Kentucky University. She has spent 6 years at Camp Shakespeare as a camper and is excited to be invited to return again this year as a Co-Instructor. As a Theatre major with a major love for theatre, she cannot wait to help out this summer and share what she has learned.

The Noblings (Ages 9-10)

Lead Instructor: Tessa McShane

Tessa is thrilled to be back with Camp Shakespeare, working with The Noblings for the fourth year in a row! Since she graduated from Hanover College in 2017 with a major in Theatre, she has been touring as an Artist Educator with Kentucky Shakespeare all throughout Kentucky and surrounding areas. She is excited to share her love of Shakespeare with new and old campers and can’t wait for the adventures the summer will bring!

The Noblings (Ages 9-10)

Co-Instructor: Emily Vergason

Emily Vergason is very excited to be working with Camp Shakespeare this summer! She is a recent graduate from the University of Louisville where she earned her Bachelor’s in Theatre Arts. Emily has been active on and offstage in Louisville for the past three years. Emily is thrilled to be working with KY Shakespeare for the first time and looks forward to sharing her love of theatre with the campers!

The Revelers (Ages 11-12)

Lead Instructor: Sabrina Spalding

Sabrina is overjoyed to be joining her Kentucky Shakespeare family for the second year in a row. She was previously in the the Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night’s Dream Spring Tours and is very excited to join in on the summer camp fun! Sabrina has acted and directed for several companies around town--a few being Pandora Productions, Commonwealth Theatre Center, Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company, The Bard’s Town Theatre, and The Derby City Playwrights. Sabrina cannot wait to meet some cool campers and play around with Shakespeare.

The Revelers (Ages 11-12)

Co-Lead Instructor: Megan Johnson

Megan is from Georgetown, Indiana and an incoming 3rd-year student over at Indiana University Southeast. When she isn’t in classes or working on shows at IUS, she leads guests through the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory as a Tour Guide! Megan has an immense love for Shakespeare and all of his works, all thanks to her role as “Mustardseed” in “Midsummer Night’s Dream” while attending Floyd Central High School. This is Megan’s first year working with Kentucky Shakespeare and she is ecstatic to be sharing this time with all of the campers!

The Revelers (Ages 13-14)

Lead Instructor: Jon Becraft

Jon has been a touring Artist Educator with Kentucky Shakespeare since August of 2016, bringing the works of Shakespeare to life in hundreds of schools in and around the state of Kentucky. He was also seen on the Central Park stage as part of Kentucky Shakespeare’s 57th summer season. Jon found his love of Shakespeare as a camper himself many years ago, and is thrilled to be leading it for the first time.

The Revelers (Ages 13-14)

Co-Lead Instructor: Colleen Beasley

Colleen is from Greenwood, Indiana and a recent graduate of Hanover College. She achieved her degrees in Communication and Theatre, alongside the Business Scholars Program. Last year, she was thrilled to have studied William Shakespeare in his birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon, for a month while attending shows like Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, and Antoine and Cleopatra. Colleen previously served Camp Shakespeare as a co-lead for the Revelers 2, and she is extremely excited to be returning to the position this summer!

The Mechanicals (Ages 15-18)

Lead Instructor: Jessica De La Rosa

Jessica De La Rosa is a brand new Louisville transplant from New York City where she has spent her recent years developing her own studio practice in Shakespearean text and performance. Jess comes to Camp Shakespeare with over 15 years of experience in education, teaching subjects in theatre from ages in early childhood education to professional actors. After receiving her MFA from the University of Tennessee, her career began to focus on devising theatre and ensemble development, where she delights in creating new works inspired by classical texts. This Summer is bound to be exciting as we discover together what the Bard has in store for this group!

The Globe Players (Ages 15-18)

Director: Kyle Ware

Kyle is the director of The Globe Players Conservatory for the 2018 summer season. He is also the Director of Education for Kentucky Shakespeare throughout the year and an actor for the company, appearing in Stratford-upon-Avon for Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebrations, including the opening of the BBC’s live coverage, Kentucky Shakespeare’s first full indoor production, Twelfth Night, and on the Central Park Stage last summer in Much Ado About Nothing. Kyle was thrilled to be a part of Kentucky Shakespeare’s record-setting 2014 summer season, appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Hamlet and Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble’s swan song production, As You Like It.. Kyle is co-artistic director of Think Thank Theatre and formerly Co-Producing Founding Artistic director of the much beloved Le Petomane Theatre Ensemble, two devised works theatre companies. Kyle is thrilled to direct the talented Globe Players ensemble in Romeo and Juliet this summer.